Sky Dancers: The Pull Within
by Lady Saffron of Xybria
Summary: In collaboration with AlyssC01, a fellow fanfiction writer, this story came into being. The heroine's love for the Sky Dancers actually allows her to enter her heroes' lives. Read on!
1. Chapter 1

_Lady Saffron: While I was on hospital duty (and waiting around for the mothers to give birth, which can take loooooooong, hehe!) I played around with this thought about the Sky Dancers being a cartoon and how we get pulled into their world. So, this story came into being. Hope you like it! _

_This is collaboration with AlyssC01's idea, also a fellow fanfiction writer._

_Cheers!_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Sky Dancers. I do own Melanie, Libby, Asta, and the story.**_

*

_PROLOGUE_

_The song filled the room. She twirled around, letting the song take her as it grew louder. At the couch she saw her babysitter, her attention on the book she was reading. The little girl didn't mind. She continued to spin and spin, imaging she had white gossamer wings of her own. She closed her eyes and stood on her tip-toes, spreading her arms wide as she let herself fall forward…_

**Chapter I: Hands and Portals**

_Ding-dong!_

She stood waiting for the door to open. She slowed her breathing and pulled her hair into a high pony tail. She had woken up late that morning, nearly forgetting her appointment with Melanie Adams. She dashed through her morning rituals of getting ready and hopped into the bus that took her to her destination. Straightening her shirt and fanning her face, she let out a long sigh to calm her nerves down. She checked her watch: three minutes early.

_Ok_, she thought. _Not bad._

"Asta!" the door swung open and revealed Melanie. She was a middle-aged blond woman with red streaks through her hair. Her bob suited her.

"You cut your hair," exclaimed Asta as Melanie drew her into a hug. Asta pulled back and looked at Melanie. "It looks great."

"So sorry to call you up on short notice," apologized Melanie as she led Asta to the TV room. "Dan had an emergency at the construction site, and no one was left to monitor the shop."

"No need to worry, I'm fine," smiled Asta. "You know how Libby and I get on well. We'll be having Barbie playhouse and tea by the time you and Dan come home."

"That's why I love you," Melanie gathered her keys and bag from the kitchen counter. "Libby loves you too." Libby was Melanie's five-year old daughter. Melanie and Asta stood just outside the TV room.

"I owe you, Mels, really, if it weren't for you…" she trailed off.

"Oh, bah," Melanie waved her hand. "You don't have to keep thanking me, Asta, once is enough. Libby! Look who's here?" she called to her daughter. The brown-curly-haired angel turned her attention from the television and looked toward the doorway. Her smile spread across her baby face.

"Asta!" she squealed as she got up and ran for Asta. Asta caught Libby and spun her around.

"Love!" she hugged back. Then Asta's attention went to the television. "Mels, is that…?"

"Yup!" Melanie nodded as the familiar theme song played. "It's what you used to watch when you were little. The Sky Dancers," she laughed.

"But it looks…new," she walked toward the television and stared, the colors vibrant, better than she remembered them.

"Digitally remastered, all that jazz," Melanie shrugged. "It's on DVD, rare edition, but I had to get it. They don't make cartoons like they used to, and I don't want Libby growing up on Ed, Edd, and Eddy," she rolled her eyes. "Anyhoo, I have to get going. You two have fun with tea!" and she was out the door.

"We will," Asta looked at the closed front door. She set Libby down, the little girl giggling and sat in front of the television. Asta took her shoes off and sat at the couch, curling up and watched the screen as well, the figures dancing and flying in their colorful costumes. She sighed, her memories running through her mind when Melanie used to babysit for her and bring these tapes with her. Asta remembered she had adored these cartoons, the dance sequences, the vibrant colors, the whimsical tunes of the harps, the different cultures of the winged races… she had also believed that one day she would be like Jade, Camille, or Angelica in those cartoons. But as the years wore and high school issues took over mind, her love for the Sky Dancers was pushed to the back-most thoughts of her mind.

That's why she was surprised at the gush of emotional attachment and delight that escaped her as she watched with Libby. The years her love for these childhood characters that had laid dormant sprang to life. She laughed quietly.

"Perhaps that's where I got my love for hip-hop dance," she shook her head as she saw Camille and Slam do a number on the floor. "Subconsciously, unconsciously, whatever," she whispered, smiling. She remembered too when she was little, she had pretended she was flying and dancing among the Sky Dancers, Melanie always telling her not to "fly" for she always fell face down on the floor. The fall stung, but that never discouraged Asta to get up and do it again. Perhaps that's why bruises didn't bother her as much as her other dance classmates were, fretting over the ugly blue-purple scars on their skin. She smiled when she saw Libby re-enacting her childhood routine of pretend flying and dancing across the TV room.

"C'mon, Love, let's get something to nibble on," she called to Libby. She got up and headed for the kitchen. When Libby didn't reply she turned and readied to call her again. Asta's mouth was frozen in silent horror as she saw Libby's hypnotized form being slowly lifted off the floor. Gray and electric hands emerged from the television, slowly pulling in the limp body toward the screen.

"NO!" she found her legs and raced to Libby, knocking the child out of the monster hands. Instead, those hands grabbed her ankles, sending electric bolts racing through her body. Asta groped for something to hold on to, but all she got was carpet burns on her fingers. The hands were pulling her in faster. Soon she was waist-deep inside the television screen. Asta didn't know whether to laugh at the absurdity of the situation or scream in fear.

"Libby!" she screamed, but the little girl didn't stir. Whatever happened to her, she was knocked out cold. How was she going to explain this to Melanie?

Asta's hands ached, gripping the edges of the television screen. Her sweat-slicked hands desperately tried to pull herself through the portal that led from the real world to the television world. Suddenly she had weird flashes of old Saturday cartoons like Captain N: The Game Master. How did he get out of Video-Land?

With one might tug, the electric-gray hands pulled her deeper into the portal, and everything around Asta fizzled, the television screen and Libby slipping faster and faster from her vision.

*


	2. Chapter 2

_Lady Saffron: Continuing with the story. Yet again, boredome was kept at bay as I penned these words._

**Chapter II: Bearings**

She fell for quite some time. When she did hit ground, it wasn't a painful thud or anything of the sort, but rather a startling and stomach-lurching halt that left her motionless. After several moments of deep breathing, she got up from her fetal position and stood up.

Where was she?

She figured she was in some sort of garden, a tamed one at that. There was a stone path that wound around the trees and bushes, and the leaves of the overhanging branches were trimmed. As she warily walked along the path, she let her fingers run through the flowers and leaves.

"Odd," she murmured. "These colors, they're so bright! And they feel…velvety." She continued along the path, wondering whose garden it was. It was positively a lovely sight to behold, like an Eden. But she was afraid of who the owner might be.

Suddenly, she heard several "swirling" sounds above her. Then seconds later, a "whooshing" and "swish" followed. She ducked under the nearby shrubs and carefully peeked out. What she saw made her gasp in surprise, making her muffle herself with her shaking hands.

"They must be wearing costumes…or jet packs to make them…fly," she choked those words out through whispered hisses at herself. Three human-looking creatures wearing some kind of armor stood at the stone path where Asta had been seconds ago. She tried ignoring her hammering heart as she strained to hear what those creatures were saying.

"…yes, Commander. Some wing-zens in the area spotted a UFO: an unidentified falling object. They described it as something with what appeared to be with arms, a body, and legs, but no wings. We'll continue the search…"

Asta's eyes widened as the three human-like creatures with wings kicked off from the ground and lifted themselves in the air. With the same swirling-whoosh-swishing sound, they turned in mid-air and flew up through the tree tops.

Letting out a held breath she hadn't been aware of, Asta sat back against a nearby tree and hugged herself. Though it had been years since she saw something this bizarre, she had a gnawing feeling she knew what those creatures were.

Wings.

Soldiers.

Velvety-vibrant-colored plants.

Wing-zens?

Asta bit her lip, feeling tears starting to well up in her eyes as realization hit her.

"Oh Lord, oh dear Lord…I'm inside the Sky Dancers DVD!"

*


	3. Chapter 3

_Lady Saffron: Well, here's the third chapter. Again, it's short and raw. The professors here seem to think we don't need sleep and rest, trying to cram as many classes as they can in a 7-day week. Wah! And to top that…thesis. I'm beginning to have a trauma-reaction whenever that word is mentioned. *shudder!*_

_Onwards!_

*****

**Chapter III: Discovered**

She stayed huddled beneath the brush until the sun started to set. Soon hunger pangs in her stomach eventually forced her from her hiding place to search for something edible. It was nearly too dark to look through the gardens for any fruit, at the same time deciding against picking anything from the trees.

"Could be poisonous to me, I mean, since I'm not…a cartoon," she whispered to herself, barking out a laugh a second later. She sounded absurd! Then her thoughts rolled forward. "What if I can't eat anything here? Because I'm not a cartoon!" she moaned in agony. She continued forward.

She was consumed by her thoughts of food she didn't immediately notice another's presence on the stone path she was on. When her eyes landed on the figure, she yelped in fear and looked from side to side, hoping to escape. But her exhaustion, hunger, and terror impeded her getaway, turning her legs into two unusable jelly-like extensions. She fell front first on the pavement, a miserable groan escaping her lips.

"Little young, are you quite alright? Look there! No wings?" came the voice of the stranger. Asta held her breath, closing her eyes. Was this to be her end? She expected rough hands to grab at her shoulders and shake her to explain herself. Instead gentle arms helped her up, brushing away the sediments from her shoulders and hair.

"Please don't hurt me…" she pleaded, her eyes still shut. She dared take a breath, her lungs scratching for oxygen.

"Never would I do that, little young," the grandfather-like voice replied. "A flightless and defenseless one," he mused. "Please open your eyes, you have nothing to fear. I don't terminate, but rather create, for I am the Tinker of this great realm."

The Tinker? The name registered in Asta's mind and she slowly opened her eyes. When she caught the cream-brown counselor gowns, the white gossamer wings, long beard and matching white long hair that were so familiar to her childhood memories, she unwittingly threw herself at him and embraced him in a fierce hug.

"Oh thank the burning stars! The Tinker!" she exclaimed. Then she remembered herself and pulled away. "Master Tinker, I know you don't know who I am, but I know who you are."

"My, my," he chuckled. "One of a strange origin knows of my existence? No wings," he repeated, a tone of amusement tinting his voice.

"That, well…" Asta looked at her right shoulder. He probably thinks no wings is like equivalent to no hands or feet, thought Asta. "I'll explain everything to you, Master Tinker, about who I am and where I came from, and eventually, help me how I can go home. Can we go somewhere where the guards won't find me? I think they want me under lock and key," she said quickly, looking up at the near-night sky in apprehension.

"Must you be that unidentified falling object they were all scurrying to find?" he chuckled again.

"You're not going to turn me in, are you?" she asked, dread pulsing through her veins.

"No, no," he shook, smiling. "I would very much like to know what you have to say, Lady..?" the question hung.

"Asta, I'm Asta," she held out her hand for him to shake. The Tinker just looked at it and back at her face. Don't they know what a handshake is? Wondered Asta. He didn't take her hand, but instead gave a short bow.

"Pleasure to meet you, and very much excited to what you'll have to tell me, and why you're still stretching out your hand at me?" he tilted his head in awe.

"It's a friendly gesture, I'll explain later, but please –" she suddenly hunched her shoulders when she heard the whoosh-swirling sounds overhead. She shot scared eyes at the Tinker. The Tinker suddenly took off his grey cloak and threw it over her shoulders.

"Come along, this way," he urged, leading her through the dim gardens. As they hurried away, Asta thanked the strange twin moons of this realm, of how fortunate it was for her that it was the Tinker who had discovered her.

*


	4. Chapter 4

_Lady Saffron: Hi readers! Comment, review, the whole jazz-effect. Cheers! God bless!_

**Chapter IV: Questions**

She snuggled beneath the covers, feeling safe for the first time since she crash landed into the Sky Realm. Earlier that evening the Tinker had interviewed her on how she had gotten into their world, referring to the television as a box with moving pictures and a CD as a circular object with information encrypted into it. Asta's guess was as good as the Tinker's in saying that a purpose must have called her into their realm. Whatever this purpose was, light or dark magic, they had yet to ponder upon.

The Tinker had wanted to continue on asking about Asta's world, but sleep was too strong to keep at bay, and he eventually let her retire in his guestroom.

The following day, the Tinker told her to accompany him in the Royal Libraries where they might be able to search for an answer.

"But…how am I going to walk around the kingdom unnoticed _without wings?_" Asta asked, apprehension etched across her face. "I'll be like, a handicapped being in this realm, like walking with no feet or something!"

"Fear not, child," the Tinker went into a closet and produced two long white strips of wood. He then poured something green and liquid on the four, said something under his breath, and then the wood started to shudder. A moment later, they rested in his hands.

"What's that?" asked Asta, stepping closer.

"This, child, is your costume," he smiled, placing them on the table and instructed her to turn her back to him.

"I don't understand," Asta turned, following his command.

"Since you have no wings, these pseudo-wings will have to do. It's not uncommon for Sky Folk to walk occasionally. So what say you to a stroll through the kingdom?" he chuckled as he attached the now feather-light body-length wing-shaped wood to her shoulder blades. Then he moved her to face a full-length mirror.

Asta shifted in her Sky Folk garb of cotton-silk cherry red that was a mix of a medieval dress with a wicked twist of Tinkerbell designs, and pseudo-wings. She didn't recognize herself. Even her hair and face seemed slightly different. Her shoulder-length hair was slightly tousled, looked sharper, with more prominent streaks of red-gold in her black hair, and her face seemed to glitter with some sort of dust or make-up. Was this part of the digitally re-mastered DVD effects?

"A stroll would be nice," she whispered, her eyes not believing her reflection. As they walked through the kingdom, the culture of the Sky Folk was crashing into her senses like the welcoming waves of the sea. Everywhere she could feel the light and cheery atmosphere of the people, the colorful clothes that "swayed and danced with you as you rise into the air" as promised by the dress makers. The music of woodwinds, harps, and bells, really set the mood of the entire scene. It was stepping into a sort of celebration.

When they finally reached the entrance to the Royal Grounds, the tone of the music changed. Gone were the light and gay tunes; it was replaced with the strong sound of regal trumpets, strings, and a subtle but very present beat of a drum. The song was intensified by the high vaulting ceilings and marble floors.

"This way," said the Tinker as he led the way toward a long hall of doors, mirrors, and seats. The warm mahogany, cold marble, high windows and reigning silence mixed with the palace melody silenced Asta into awe. Finally, stopping at one of the many large doors, they entered.

The bookshelves were at least 3 stories high. The quiet flutter of wings and garments rustled through the pregnant silence. She had never seen so many shelves of books, nor as high!

"Ladder," she mourned.

"What was that, child?" asked the Tinker.

"I," she heaved a sigh. "I need a ladder to reach any higher than six feet," she bit her lip. The Tinker shook his head, a mild expression of amusement on his face.

"First, we'll need to know what we're looking for. Then we'll worry about fetching books in high places. Come along," he led the way to a large circular table at the middle of the library, where a librarian sat, her glasses balanced on her nose as she scanned through a long list of books' names. "Good day, madam, I was wondering if you could direct us to the section of other-realm travels?"

Hours later, they found very little that could help them. All they could sum up was a force, magic in origin, must have pulled her through the portal made via the television. Such "callings" only occur when the "summoner" has need of the "sumonee." Another theory stated that the being who may have opened the portal wanted access to the realm it was trying to get to, but had pulled something or someone inside the portal instead, therefore severing the connection made.

"But who would want _me_ _here_?" Asta asked. "I mean, surely, I know I want to be here, but I don't do dark magic or portal-opening sessions while babysitting," she shrugged. She slumped forward onto the table, resting her head on her arms. "I'm hungry."

"We'll continue the search tomorrow," said the Tinker, closing the tome he was scanning. "True, dinner awaits us at the palace."

"What?" Asta sat up straight, staring at him. "Palace? Surely you meant 'you' not 'us'?" she asked. The Tinker got up and shook his head.

"I meant what I said, child. Besides, I believe one royal might be able to help us with our quest for answers faster than pouring over these dusty things," he waved at the considerable stack of books they had collected throughout the afternoon. "I should have gone to her first, but I wanted to have some theories under my belt before we do so. Being unprepared before a royal audience is most upsetting."

"One royal? Royal audience?" she repeated. "You don't mean Dame Skyla – I mean Queen Skyla and her…" she swallowed, her throat going dry. "…and her Sky Dancers?" she saw the Tinker's eyebrows shoot up in astonishment.

"My, my, you do know many things about our world!" he mused. "Must this have to do something about that encrypted information in the circular object you told me of?"

"DVD," she corrected him. "Yeah, it does, I guess."

"Most fascinating! The Queen must be told of this. Come along, child, we have a dinner appointment with them," and he hustled her out of the library. On their way to the main palace, Asta's stomach began to grumble but not out of hunger. Nervousness was slowly taking over her body. Wringing her fingers, she took slow breaths as she followed the Tinker down the halls, finally opening up to the Great Hall of the palace where the royal court was already in progress of dinner. They made their way up to the elevated stage where the Queen and her Sky Dancers sat before the court.

A small nervous laugh escaped her mouth. "Talk about meeting your childhood heroes…in the flesh!"

*


	5. Chapter 5

_Lady Saffron: Hi, everyone! Ora revalidas and thesis finito! Now for final exams. But first, a chappie for you. God bless!_

**Chapter V: Dinner**

Asta was escorted before the queen and her Sky Dancers. She knelt before them. As the Tinker introduced her to them, she couldn't help but stare at the Sky Dancers. She hid her smile as she saw how vibrant, glittery, and real-like they looked before her. The watercolors and sketches of their cartoon version did no justice to how they looked before her now. For instance, Anjelica's pink wasn't just pink, it had at least three shades of rose, fuschia, and baby pink swirling in and out of her suit. Or Jade's hair, jet black with one glowing fire-sunset streak down the middle of it. Or Breeze's armband, its canary yellow blazing against the calm sea-blue in sharp triangular patterns, or –

"…Asta…Asta!" coughed the Tinker. Asta blinked twice and turned to the old man. He slightly tilted his head toward the queen. Asta got up from her knees and sheepishly smiled.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but notice…" she began. Notice what? They probably think I'm such a big loser ogling at them like a girl craving for a Barbie doll, she scolded herself.

"Notice what, dear child?" asked the queen. Asta had to take in several breaths to calm herself. Queen Skyla was actually addressing her! And not just in the oh-my-gosh-I-wish-I-was-a-Sky-Dancer-in-one-of-those-cartoon-episodes kind of way, but actually _being_ in front of the queen. In the flesh.

"I, uh…" she stuttered. Asta thought she was going to have heart palpitations. "Your costumes, I mean apparel, I mean…royal suits," she stammered. "They're beautiful!" she sighed with honesty. She bit her lip as the Sky Dancers looked amongst themselves and smiled. The queen took another step toward Asta.

"Thank you for saying such," she nodded. "Now, Master Tinker has said quite a bit about you," she looked at him in confirmation. "His lengthy introduction was quite… unusual, but given the present circumstance," she looked back at Asta, "it was most wise to bring this matter to my foremost attention."

"Circumstance?" Asta repeated. If she hadn't been filling her mind with the intricate and colorful designs of the Sky Dancers' costumes in her mind, she would have been listening to what the Master Tinker was saying about her! But no, she just had to ogle and stare at them like a complete fool.

"He has explained that your place of origin is very far from here, and you were transported by an unknown means. Of course, the Master Tinker will do all he is capable of in finding how to return you home, but for the mean time, we'll have to first figure out how you got here," said the queen. She smiled and placed a warm hand on Asta's shoulder. "It must feel fearful, landing in unknown territory, but rest assured, little one, we will help you."

"I…thanks, Queen Skyla, Your Majesty," she gave an unsteady curtsy. "It's just, I'm still kind of reeling from the tube-suck-in ride, which wasn't exactly my choice of transpo, nor was I prepared for that bump," she laughed. She saw the queen's brow slightly furrow in confusion.

"What she means to say is," came up Slam, his black-yellow ensemble almost stinging her eyes with its glaring combination. "She's dizzy from the trip, even though she doesn't know how she got on the trip here on the first place," he nodded and smiled at Asta.

"Well, I thank you for that translation, Slam," nodded the queen. "You will join me and my Sky Dancers at the high table, along with Master Tinker, of course. I'll have a few words with him. Ladies," she gestured to Camille, Jade, and Angelica, "please see to Lady Asta's needs." And with that she walked back to her seat with Master Tinker by her side. Asta shot one fearful glance at the Tinker until he nodded in encouragement before walking with the queen.

"Hi, Asta," came a voice. Asta turned, and the most brilliant shade of turquoise and cherry rose against skin of smooth mahogany greeted her eyes. She tilted her head up to look at her face. "I'm Camille."

"Jade," chimed in the other girl, her orange blaze streak catching Asta's attention.

"And I'm Angelica," laughed the last girl, her yellow hair held in place with a huge rose-shade bow. "Come on, you must be starving," she led the way to the table. Asta's eyes widened at the array of food and quantity.

"I'll say," she nodded. "Having the Tinker as a study buddy can do that," she said as she took her seat. Camille was already helping fill Asta's plate up as Jade handed her a goblet.

"It's berry juice," said Jade when Asta looked at the goblet. "Don't worry; it tastes just like back home."

"Hm…I'll have to define 'home' though," Asta said slowly as she gulped down her drink.

"But, you said you didn't come from here, or that's what the Tinker said," joined Breeze in the conversation. "That could only mean one thing: that you're from the human world."

"Yes and yes and no," said Asta. She could feel the Sky Dancers' eyes on her, as if burning her arms and skin. "Hoo boy, I was hoping the Tinker and I could come up with some sort of answer before coming to the queen and to you guys for help, but, like I said," Asta took a bite at what looked like a sandwich, "the library didn't help that much."

"But something must have pulled you in, or called you," said Angelica. Asta nodded.

"Pulling's right, I got pulled through the tube, weird as it sounds, but that's how it happened," said Asta. She could feel her head start to bob with drowsiness.

"Through television? I know we had portals to enter the Sky Realm but, we'd need Queen Skyla's stone to do that," mused Camille.

"But what if this television or electronic device that triggered her transport into the Sky Realm had the same effect as the stone? Instead of the stone, there was another 'elevator' or 'catalyst' so to speak, which could have gotten her here," explained Jade. When everyone's eyebrows shot up, she shrugged. "Hey, having a dad for a scientist makes you think along those lines."

"It could be possible, I mean, the minute I popped in the DVD, and Libby and I started watching it, these gray hands came out of the television," recalled Asta.

"DVD?" repeated Slam. "Is that like a tape?"

"Uh, kind of, but it can hold more information and store much more data," explained Asta.

"Is your dad a scientist too?" joked Angelica.

"No," Asta shook her head. "But DVD's are the way we store data now, I mean, back where I come from."

"Which reminds me, you still have to explain where exactly you do come from," said Camille. Asta bit her lip.

"Alright, fair enough," Asta nodded. "But please don't freak. I'll try to explain this as simple as I can, or at least from what I understand."

With a great sigh, Asta carefully chose her words in telling the Sky Dancers that all the Sky Realm, even the High Hopes Academy, was a cartoon. She had to argue several times with Slam and Angelica that they were indeed products of a sketch pad, a screenplay writer, and all those digital works that make up moving pictures with sound. It was Jade who came to her rescue.

"Look, if we came from a different world and were able to enter the Sky Realm, who's to say someone from the outside can't come into a cartoon world? It's all about different planes and dimensions. What an anomaly…"

"Ok, this conversation is totally bugging me out," shivered Camille.

"How else could I know so much about you guys, and about this place? I've watched every episode that was out of Sky Dancers when I was a kid –"

"And how many years ago was that exactly?" asked Slam. Asta did the math. "What!?"

"Twelve years ago?" echoed Breeze. "Time there must be different here."

"Actually…" began Asta. "The series only ran for one season. So, in other words, the story isn't complete. How I would have loved to write the ending, or something of that sort, you know, give closure to all the characters, especially to Queen Skyla," she sighed.

"You write?" asked Angelica.

"Among other hobbies, yeah," nodded Asta. "I mean, it was because of watching Sky Dancers I fell in love with dancing. Though I had originally wanted to take up ballet," Jade beamed at that remark, "but we didn't have enough money to afford classes. So, I just picked up what I could on the streets, so to speak," she glanced at Camille and Slam. "And they do get creative."

"You do hip-hop?" Camille's eyes widened in excitement.

"A bit of jazz, and cheer-dance for stunts. They made me flyer because of my size, you know, I'm the one they toss in the air and I do flips and stuff while hanging up there," Asta laughed, recalling her high school routines.

"We really did influence you, didn't we?" laughed Breeze.

"Wait, we're moving away from the conversation. You said you write, do you think you can, I don't know…'write' something into being, per se?" asked Jade.

"Translation, please?" cut in Slam, rolling his eyes at Jade.

"And if I could, what are you trying to get at?" Asta tilted her head in question.

"I see what she means," said Breeze. "If you could write a scene or storyline that may help you find out how you got here, maybe it'll be the ticket to get you home."

"Home," repeated Camille. "Ugh, I still can't get over the fact that we're cartoons!"

"Hey," said Asta, "If it helps, I loved watching your series, and you're not just any cartoons," smiled Asta. "I really learned important stuff from you guys, like life, friendship, trust, loyalty, love…"

"Love," whispered Angelica, shooting a glance at Breeze.

"And awesome dance moves," cut in Slam, curling his arms into a pose.

"That too," laughed Asta. After several more moments of laughing, joking, and eating, Asta's yawns were signals enough to send her to bed. She didn't notice the lushly designed royal room she was assigned to stay in, as sleep soon pulled her into deep dreams and one of her constantly running from gray hands and a distant sinister cackle.

*


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Letter: **_

Hello, readers!

First, I would like to apologize for the ultimately long silence. Simple reason: life got in the way. I can list all the things that stole my time, like college, graduation, traveling, and family duties, but those are no excuses. Yes, life does happen, and as writers, it's our responsibility to have writing time fit in with our daily grinds.

I'm deeply sorry.

My deepest sorry goes to Ms. AlyssC01, who's mailed me more than once, encouraging me to continue writing this fanfiction. She knows what I went through the previous months, the part about being shipped into the woods (literally). Now that it's September, both my board exam results and IELTS results came out: I passed them both! Yeah, I'm a nurse now, wee! At the moment, I'm looking for hospital opportunities.

After wrapping up at school, graduation rituals, reviewing for the boards, flying across the world, (from February-July) the nail-biting(July-August) wait and sickness (the longest I've ever been sick! 3 weeks! So that ate up the last weeks of August), I'm back to the writing desk.

Ok, a bit of unsaid 411: I haven't been totally away from this site. I was wrapping up my Narnia fanfictions (one I'm currently trying to write but the Muse for that story seems to be avoiding me at the moment). I hope you read those also. And a friend asked me to write a piece for her to accompany her sketches, and well, writers, you can't really refuse when someone asks for your "help" in writing, right? -guilty me!

I hope you accept my apologies, dear readers.

And now, without further ado, let's fly!

Sincerely,

LSoX

_

* * *

__**Chapter VI: Energy**_

The following morning saw Asta back in the throne room again. The Sky Dancers stood around her as they all waited for the queen's next words.

"The Sky Swirl Stone will help you return to your realm," nodded the queen.

"But Queen Skyla," began Camille. "We don't know what pulled her in here in the first place. Shouldn't we find out?"

"Do you believe that's more important than her returning to her home?" the queen placed the question to her Sky Dancers.

"Everything has a reason," Jade stepped forward. "Maybe she's meant to help us," she smiled at Asta. Asta returned the gesture with a shaky grin. _Help how? I can't even fly!_ She screamed in her head.

Then it all started again: the Sky Dancers arguing that Asta's purpose was for the good. One more defender of the Wingdom was always a welcome. Queen Skyla countered their arguments, explaining what Asta couldn't voice out: she had no choice in coming to the Wingdom. As much as she would love Asta to stay and protect the kingdom also, she knew the girl had a family and life of her own, and the queen wouldn't put such a responsibility on Asta.

Asta let out an inaudible sigh. Queen Skyla knew what was in Asta's heart, and for that Asta was forever in her debt. To her then-childhood memories and the present events of now, she held firm to the belief that the queen was both beautiful and wise. Her defense of Asta was example of such traits.

The bells tolled the noon hour, and the company proceeded toward the Great Hall.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" asked Angelica as they climbed down from the throne dais.

"You know I do," smiled Asta. "But there's things I've got to settle in my own world and –"

Asta never finished her sentence. A gray force, loud and mighty, pushed everyone off their feet and surrounded their forms. Asta felt Angelica's and Breeze's hands on her arms, keeping her close and shielding her as much as they could from the unexpected sensation. The deep whirring wails increased in volume then suddenly dropped, the silence a jarring effect on their ears.

"What was that?" Slam shouted as he helped Jade and Queen Skyla to their feet. Camille held the Tinker by his arms, steadying his old form.

_Cack-cack-cackle!_

They all turned toward the strange sound, like something between a cough and a car engine unable to start.

"Not 'what', dumb Sky Dancer, but 'who'!" came a sinister voice, followed with more cack-sounds. It turned out to be laughter as the round bull's-eye design bounced in and out, catching everyone's gaze. Asta cringed, her eyes watering from the color-clash of black-white-with-green-skin ensemble. She hid her face behind Breeze's chest, rubbing her eyes until they felt normal again.

"You're not welcome here," Queen Skyla's voice rose with anger.

"I wasn't expecting the red carpet, Skyla," sneered Sky Clone. "But I am here to collect."

The way he said the last word made Asta pull away and look at the floating obese man. The tone chilled her to the bone.

"I will never give up the –" fumed Queen Skyla.

"I wasn't going to ask for the stone," snapped Sky Clone. That got an infuriated gasp from the queen and shocked expressions from everyone else. "I never ask, I steal," he cack-ed again. "Besides, I'm looking for something else. To help me is this," and from his belt he produced a small box the size of a deck of cards. He "pushed" it open and something gray slithered out. It soon took form and substance, the gray smoke soon shimmering into metal-iron hands.

"Oh!" cried Asta, recognizing the things. The fear she felt earlier now intensified within her, the ball of fury scratching against the insides of her stomach.

"This is my Energizicon. It harnesses all the power sources it can to make my latest invention, the De-Winger, to activate!" he guffawed, his belly doing a jiggly-up-down bounce with every breath and laugh. "And it senses an energy source nearby, a very-very strong one," he brought his fingertips together as he stared down at the audience in the throne room. "I want it!"

"You can't have the stone!" boomed Breeze. He gently pushed Asta into Angelica's arms as he and Slam rose into the air to attack the Energizicon. To everyone's horror and to Sky Clone's delight, the Sky Dancers' powers had no effect on the hands.

"You're stupid as well," Sky Clone pointed a finger at Breeze. "I already told you I don't want the stone. And yes, your pathetic nature-and-lightning powers don't work on the Energizicon. It's pure energy! It just absorbs your attacks, ha-ha!" he cacked again.

"Whatever you're looking for it's not here," Jade rose into the air as well. She was about to do her power-move of invisibility but the gray hands knocked her out of the air before she could complete her spins. The hands loomed closer, and the Sky Dancers instinctively drew closer to protect the queen.

But the hands were reaching for something else; or rather someone.

"No!" screamed Asta as she felt the gray hands grip around her waist for the second time. She found it harder to draw breath as the grip tightened. She felt the hands shake her in its grasp, her fake wings falling away.

"What's this?" Sky Clones pickle-colored face zoomed up to her face. "No wings! Ahah!" he clapped, then punched his fists in the air in sign of victory. "You're from another dimension! Of course, the travel from there –wherever that is- would create energy buildup in you. And now," he grabbed Asta's jaw with a powerful grip of his own. "I'll harness it!"

Her vision swam before her. Her breaths became shallower, the tight cramp-like sensation from her waist stealing her attention. She pounded her fists against the hands that kept her captive, but nothing happened. Her last conscious memory was of the Sky Dancers rushing toward her but they never caught up.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter VII: Black Box**_

Darkness tried to steal what little light filtered into the cell. Asta felt cold metal beneath her cheek. She pushed herself away from the floor.

And then the pain crashed in.

She shook with the sudden fierceness of the sensation racking through her. She rolled onto her back and tried gasping for air, leading herself in a breathing-exercise sequence to get as much air into her chest while minimizing the amount of pain it caused. Her hands slowly felt her torso. She didn't have to see to know bruises were already formed, and the cinching pain was because of the prolonged grip of those gray hands.

_Water_, she thought, her lips sandpaper against her tongue.

Her head was starting to spin, her thoughts jumbled clouds ricocheting inside her skull. She held her arms out to her sides, trying to steady herself, and that's when she felt it: wetness.

She turned toward the sensation, forcing her form up on her elbows as she crawled toward the left where her hand had felt the cold slippery trickle. She positioned herself close to the rivulet. By the light of the dim green glow emitting from somewhere above, Asta's eyes widened at the sight before her.

It was a small flow of water coming out of nowhere! She waved her hand above where the water "emerged" from the air, expecting to hit something like a faucet or a hose.

Nothing.

She then cupped her hands and brought the liquid to her lips.

Water!

She drank her fill and rubbed it on her face to wake her up. She felt better already. She then stared back at the anomaly.

"How?" she scrunched her eyebrows together. A wild thought came to her. She shrugged her shoulders. "What do I have to lose?"

_Light_, she pictured a small candleholder with a candle in it, a warm yellow glow at the top of the wick. She opened her eyes and her thought had become a reality.

"Manifestations," she laughed to herself. She slowly got up, bringing the candle with her toward the "door". She concluded it was a door because that was where the low lime-glow was coming from. Through the bars she saw an endless hallway.

A plan was forming in her mind at the same time the fear was beginning to grip her just as tightly as the gray hands. But no, she had to focus! If she was indeed taken by Sky Clone, she was definitely in his lair: The Netherworld.

"Ok," Asta nodded to herself, summoning up her strength and courage. "No chickening out, Asta." Her next thoughts came with speed fueled by fear and excitement. She was going to get out of this dungeon, and she just discovered the way out.

_Door open._

_Asta invisible._

_Arrows point way out._

A second later the door sprung open. She thanked whatever deity ruled in this world that the door was silent when it did open. Next she noticed her hands. By the light of the candle she saw her form fading, her hands going transparent around the handle of the candleholder. Her shadow flickered and then was gone. Lastly, shimmery orange arrows appeared on the floor, reminding her of those glow-in-the-dark airplane hall lights that lit up during the safety video instructions. She snuffed the candle out and followed the arrows.

The arrows lead her to a cavernous room. It was circular in shape, with a chair in the center. It looked like a throne room of some sort.

There was also a large machine in the room. It looked like a conveyer belt, reminding Asta of some school videos explaining mass production in factories. Only this one had "cubicles" leading into the main machine, as if people should be inside it.

"Oh my gawb…" Asta reeled in horror. She remembered what Sky Clone had said back in the Wingdom: his new invention, the De-Winger. This machine was going to strip the Wingizens of their wings?

"He mustn't use it," Asta clenched her fists in determination. She knew she was the "power source" for this machine. If she got away in time then Sky Clone wouldn't be able to power it. But then he could easily find a new power source.

Fighting between wanting to leave right away and sabotaging the machine, the latter had won. She slowly made her way to the machine, hunching her shoulders and look at whichever way. She had to remind herself that she was invisible, but that didn't ease up her tension.

She reached the machine and looked for something that resembled "batteries" or an "on-off" switch. She got to a black box device with many wires protruding from it. She prayed it was the batteries.

The moment she picked it up the machine whirred to life. She cursed, realizing that _she_ was the battery! She quickly started pulling out the wires, ignoring the smarting and stinging sensations of electricity running through her hands and up her arms. She had one thought: to destroy the black box.

She had three more wires to go when Sky Clone and three bouncing things zoomed into the room. His eyes rested on her, his growl reaching her ears.

"Seize her," he bellowed. Asta's eyes looked down and saw her form. She wasn't invisible anymore!

She tugged at the remaining wires, finally pulling the black box free. She sprinted away as far as she could, one sentence forming in her mind before she lost her footing.

_Strong winds, take me back to the Wingdom!_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter VIII: Back**_

She tossed and tumbled, the winds indeed pushing her out of the black-clouded Netherworld. She had no way of controlling her flight. The only comfort she had was the thought she was heading back to the Wingdom.

"_Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!"_

Pushing her hair away from her face, she turned toward the sound. Hot on her trail were two ugly-looking, distorted versions of _Disney's _blue genie. Instead of smiles these goons had a forever-frown and their jaws hung open, something dark and smoky rushing out of their mouths.

Their pink-goo colored hands reached out to Asta.

"Not hands again," she gasped. She turned to face "front", trying to propel herself forward by swinging her arms in freestyle swimming form.

_Faster,_ she pleaded, and sure enough the gust of wind she was riding picked up speed. The clouds around her morphed from black to gray to beige then pink. Suddenly she flew through clouds that were cotton-candy orange and blue, the sun shining to her left. She savored the heat, knowing that she was finally out of the Netherworld.

But the Horricanes were still hot on her trail. Didn't these creatures lose power in the light of the sun? She shook her head, realizing that they weren't vampires.

Just as Asta was trying to think of a weapon to use against the Horricanes, she heard the familiar swirling sounds of wings. She laughed with relief when she recognized their wing designs and costumes.

"Sky Dancers!" she called out to them. She didn't stop for the winds were still doing her command. Jade did a u-turn and flew next to Asta.

"Are you alright?" she held out her hand. "How are you flying? You don't have wings."

"I'll explain later," Asta promised. "I'll be with the queen. The Horricanes –"

"Right," nodded Jade, letting go and rejoining her team. The battle was over sooner than she expected as the Sky Dancers took flight next to her. They all spoke at the same time, wondering out loud how Asta was flying without wings.

Before she could say a word, she felt the winds start to lessen its hold on her, the speed reducing, and then all out disappeared around her.

"Ah!" she felt gravity pull her, her stomach doing flips as she fell through the clouds. Her hands gripped on something sharp but she ignored the pain; the immediate and present danger was her falling to her death.

"Gotcha!"

She felt arms lift her up and muscles against her palm. She turned and saw it was Slam. He rejoined the team and they flew on.

"I'm guessing that was the borderline for the Wingdom?" Asta turned to look over Slam's shoulder, looking for a marker or signboard, but she saw only clouds.

"Yes," answered Camille. Asta knew she was going to ask what Jade had earlier, so Asta put up her hand before the mahogany-skinned girl could ask.

"I'll explain it all when we're at the throne room, I promise."

As soon as they alighted, the queen and the Tinker were there to receive them. It was the Tinker who brought Asta's attention to her hands.

"Oh, this," Asta held the black box out, the severed wires sticking out like spider legs. "I didn't realize I still had it. It was part of Sky Clone's De-Winger." At that name everyone's reaction was a range from appalled to outrage. Asta recounted her kidnap, about finding out about the machine, and how she had escaped.

"Manifesting," concluded Asta. She handed the black box to the Tinker. "It's apparently something I can do in this realm."

"Could it be because you're a writer?" asked Angelica. Asta started at the question then let out an amused smile. She never thought it that way, but she guessed in a sense when one does write, the words and scenes that appear on the page are a way of 'manifesting' what was in a writer's mind.

"Try something!" urged Breeze.

"Catwings," said Asta, recalling one of her childhood stories of a cat gifted with flight and hawk-like wings. The air shivered before her, and out of the air emerged a Persian kitten with wings of the same design as her fur. Asta opened her arms to the kitten and the creature flew to her and settled in her arms, rubbing her cheek against Asta's neck.

"Awesome!" cheered Slam.

"Asta," Angelica stood next to Asta. "Now you can really go home." The weight of her words settled in Asta. Yes, she now did have a way of going home. It was simple, the words easily coming to her mind, but she stopped them before she could think the entire thought.

"It can't be just all that," said Asta, looking at everyone. "There must be something deeper to this. It's too simple, do you understand me?"

"Maybe you're true mission isn't here," mused Queen Skyla. Asta turned to the monarch.

"You mean like this video-land trip is just a stop-over to the main destination?" Asta bit her lip. She saw the queen's eyes cloud slightly with confusion.

"She means this is just a part of the real journey," translated Slam once again. The queen nodded.

Asta let go of the kitten. She hugged everyone a farewell, bowing before the queen before she gave her a hug. Now this was definitely something for her diary!

Asta completed her thought of returning home. But before that, she turned to the queen.

"May I ask a question?"

"You may," nodded Queen Skyla.

"I can manifest wings for myself, but I feel I should ask your permission. May I?"

The queen nodded. Asta's wings emerged from her shoulder blades, a swirl-design of white-and-emerald with yellow-gold lining. She looked beyond the throne room and out into the skies, seeing the portal that would lead her back to her world. She kicked off the ground, the Sky Dancers following her. Together they flew into the sky.

Asta looked below, the Wingdom growing smaller and smaller. She turned to the Sky Dancers, finally reliving her childhood dream of flying through the skies with them.

Just as she was about to enter the portal, she turned and faced them.

"I love you guys, truly," she nodded emphatically. "Cartoon sketches or whatever, you guys were great role models to me growing up."

"Thank you, Asta," smiled Camille. "Now I don't mind so much that we really are just cartoons!" she laughed.

"Not 'just' anything, Camille," corrected Asta. "I'll miss you guys, and this flying business," she gestured to her wings.

"Write about us," suggested Jade. "That way we won't have to be so far apart."

"I will," agreed Asta. With that final thought she turned and flew through the portal, crash landing into the living room.

She got up, hearing a solo clap against the drone of the television on an empty channel. She turned to the clapping sound.

"Libby!" Asta rushed to the little girl and scooped her up her arms, hugging her fiercely. She then pulled away and checked Libby over for any bruises, cuts, or tell-tale signs of the little girl getting into mischief.

She was clear.

"Again, again!" squealed Libby. Asta saw Libby pointed to the television.

"Oh no, we're not," she put Libby down, switched the television off and nearly yanked the DVD out of the player. "This thing is going back to the store. We're not risking a roundtrip, Libby."

Asta made to put the DVD in her bag when she caught her reflection in a hallway mirror. She was still wearing the Sky Folk dress, but the cherry-redness was now a dull shade compared to the vibrant hue it was back inside the DVD. The skirt was halfway down her thighs, the bodice and sleeves hugging her figure in a flattering way.

"Oh gosh, what am I going to tell Melanie?" she stared at her reflection. She caught sight of her shoes, which were dainty ballet flats the same color scheme as her dress.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter IX: Home**_

Thankful that she had an extra change of clothes in her dance bag, she left Melanie's house. She gripped the DVD in her hands, convincing Melanie that there was something wrong with the DVD, that it wouldn't play properly and offered to take it back to the video store and switch it with Sesame Street.

As she drummed her fingers on the counter waiting for the Sesame Street, she couldn't help but look at the man behind the cash register. There was something odd. It was the way he held himself, the way he moved. Guessing from his whitening hair, he must have been around his fifties, but his body build projected a much younger aura.

Asta closed her eyes and shook her head. She had a rough day, and daydreaming about warriors working as video store dudes wasn't helping. But when she opened her eyes again, she narrowed her eyes at the man, this time her brows knitted in suspicion. One thing gave him away: his eyes.

_I've seen them before!_ She slowly backed away, the fear gripping her so hard she didn't even try hiding it from her face.

"Is something wrong?" asked the man, his face contorting with genuine concern. Asta stayed her fear for one moment, puzzled by his reaction.

"I know you… but from where?" she thought out loud. She searched her memory, but came up blank. But she _knew_ she recognized him.

"I believe this is our first meeting," he let out a friendly smile. "I'm not originally from here."

"Who is? With globalization and all," she tried at a joke, but the eerie feeling of familiarity still poked her at the back of her neck. _Who are you?_ Her gaze suddenly fell on the _Sky Dancer_ DVD. Its back was faced up so the summary was exposed, the words too tiny to read from her distance. But the image she saw next to the words nearly knocked her off her feet when she finally put two-and-two together. She lifted her gaze to the older man. "You! You're… You're!" she backed directly into a shelf of videos, pushing them over. She lost her footing and crashed to the floor, the merchandise raining around her. She covered her head with her arms, feeling the occasional sting of the corner of the video tapes grazing her skin.

"My dear, are you alright?" he came, pushing the videos aside with his feet and crouching down to help Asta up.

"Splendid!" Asta croaked, looking up at him. "And thoroughly shocked."

"Yes, a showering of rectangular objects would certainly call for an unpleasant sensation," he smiled.

"I can't believe you're here!" she gasped. "And you look so… _human_!"

"I beg your pardon?" he tilted his head. It seemed as if he was trying to swallow his laughter, the emerging red-tinge on his face surely suggested it.

"I knew I recognized you! It was your eyes, but man… you've aged!" she blurted out and then clasped her hands over her mouth. "Aged gracefully, I mean… oh!" she threw her hands up in the air. "What a muck I'm making this, and in front of royalty too!"

"Please explain yourself, my dear," he held out a hand, helping Asta to her feet. Asta looked around the video store and only saw one customer, and he had those gargantuan headphones on, his music probably blasting its bass till his eardrums punctured.

"No one talks like that around here, at least not anymore," Asta began. "And you're eyes; I knew I saw them before, but not on you. I mean…" she gathered her thoughts, hoping the man wouldn't think she was a loony bin. "You're him, I know you are!"

"You'll have to be more specific," he smiled, but there was something in his manner that eased Asta, that told her he believed what she was yammering about.

"You're King Skyler," she said at last. "You and Sky Clone have the same eyes, but I believe that's where the similarities end. But didn't you have green hair also?"

"After two years since my arrival here in this dimension, the green in my hair started to fade, and took on a brown tinge. But time waits for no one, and so the brown soon became gray and white hair," he chuckled. "And yes, I am King Skyler."

"Oh my gosh…ohmigosh!" Asta rattled on for two minutes straight. She didn't even notice she was already at the back room of the video store where there was a make-shift kitchen and table. Her eyes finally focused on the hot cup of tea before her.

"Now tell me all you know," he encouraged her, sipping his own cup of tea. Asta recounted how she got sucked into the television via the DVD, meeting up with the Sky Dancers and Queen Skyla, and at last with Sky Clone and his evil invention.

"I'm just thinking," finished Asta. "If I got in, then you could too! I mean, it could work. Maybe that DVD isn't just a teleporter of some sort. Maybe it can work as a telecommunication device. Call up the Tinker," shrugged Asta. She was beat tired, realizing that it was just 'this morning' that she was trying to out-fly two of Sky Clone's Horricanes.

"Perhaps," mused the king. He smiled at Asta and nodded. "I shall try. I do know how to work with these devices, video tapes, DVD's VCD's, and the new outcomes, the Blu-Rays."

"You got into this dimension because of the Death Spin?" asked Asta suddenly, fighting a yawn.

"I did," he nodded. "And I've been trying ever since to find a way back. I knew it had to do with high-frequency energies if I was ever to return. Then one day someone asked me if I could watch over this store while the owner went out to do an errand. That's when I discovered these instruments, radio waves, frequency waves, and how information was stored in these devices," he gestured to the videos and CD's outside. "I thought perhaps if I could use this technology, perhaps I could finally find a way home."

"Well, you're in the right track," Asta nodded. "If you can harness enough energy, and focus that on opening a 'portal' to the Sky Realm via the DVD… I mean, that's how I got it: I was watching the DVD, and then Sky Clone with his Energizicon comes along and pulls me in." Asta caught the face of the clock on the wall and nearly fell off her chair. "Fudge, is that the time?" she nearly shrieked. "I'm _this close_ to getting the gates locked on me. I seriously have to jet, but wow," she smiled. "I'm glad I got to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear," the king stood up and opened his arms to her. Asta didn't think twice about it: she thought of Queen Skyla as a mother figure, and so the king was like a father in her childhood days.

"I know you'll find a way," she nodded into his chest. "A hug for the queen and her warriors," she said as she pulled away.

"I will," he promised.

The next three days were a whirl of events, each one morphing into each other. Asta barely had time to think as she moved through the motions of daily life, dashing from home to school, to dance rehearsals, homework, sleep, and then the whole routine again. It was only when it was the evening of the third day she was finally allowed to catch her breath as she plopped on the sofa, the evening news blaring off the TV as her family made read for dinner.

"… _There were no signs of a struggle or a break-in in the area, but the disappearance of Kyle Lancer, owner of the video store at Hibiscus Street has left authorities confused. Nothing was missing in the store or in his apartment just above the shop, which he had lived in for five years…"_

"Probably eloped with some chick," said Asta's brother, who had dumped himself on the couch next to her, chewing on a burger.

"You would," snorted Asta, shaking her head.

"… _The only thing authorities found in his apartment was his TV and DVD player on, suggesting that he was in the room before the unexplained disappearance. This is Karen Gale, reporting for Channel 6 News; back to you, Dan."_

Asta made her way up to her room after dinner. It took a lot of self-control not to blurt out to her family that she knew who Kyle Lancer really was or the adventure she had in a DVD. And now the only person she could share that secret with was gone.

Sighing, she went to her corkboard, looking at the schedule for her week ahead when she noticed a new photo of her in mid-air, a perfect pose while performing a dance move in one of her dance concerts. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that photo seemed "professionally" taken, as if it was for a magazine and not from the family camera. She unpinned the photo and turned it over; finding beautiful penmanship, the letters lacing and arching is if they belonged in Shakespearean love letters. She forced her eyes to focus, finally being able to comprehend the message it bore:

_I knew I recognized you as well, Asta. I frequent dance gatherings in this city, and your crew (as they call dance dramatis personae in this dimension) is one among the few I enjoy watching. As a dancer myself, I understand the dedication, precision, and passion a dancer carries and expresses, and being able to share that with an audience or even with just one soul is a gift in itself. _

_This is my farewell, for I am now returning to my beloved Queen Skyla. Yes, I have found the way home._

"_May the Wings of Dance carry you where your dreams fly high."_

_With gratitude and a debt I shall forever be in,_

_-King Skyler of the Wingdom_

Asta flipped the photo again, looking at herself. Somehow in her suspended state, she could almost see a faint shimmer behind her shoulders, a glowing shadow of what looked like wings.

_THE END. _

_

* * *

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_**Author's note**_:

_Hello, everyone! I know, three months, three months! Too long to finally write an ending to this story that has hung in the air for longer than it should, but here it is: the end. Finally, a closure, and something that I've always wanted: a happy ending for Skyler and Skyla. _

_Thank you everyone who have read, reviewed, and liked this story. Thank you, thank you! And may we continue to love the Sky Dancers. Cartoons of our childhood such as this live on beyond the TV screen and DVD's because they exist in our thoughts and in fanfictions. I'm sure a number of you participated in the Facebook activity of "Post your favorite childhood cartoon as your profile picture." You guessed it: I did post the Sky Dancers, specifically Jade because she was my favorite._

_Once again, much thanks to you! I hope you enjoyed this fanfiction. _

_All the best,_

_Lady Saffron of Xybria._


End file.
